Buyers of Noventa shares were in shorter supply than the rare metal it mines.
The reason? Its warning that it looked set to produce far less of the
tantalum used in consumer electronics from its Marropino mine in Mozambique
than previously thought.

That cast doubts over Noventa’s ability to keep up repayments of a rescue loan
made last year. The $16 million refinancing, agreed after management
admitted there was a risk of the company becoming insolvent, came courtesy
of Richmond Capital Partners, its biggest shareholder.

Luca Bechis, Richmond’s founder and the interim chairman of Noventa, is a
well-known figure in